Portland Stock

Money = Future Music for Conceptual Minds

2011-11-07T14:17:00.000-08:00

Crystal Baxley & Stefan Ransom win $518 to go towards their 35 Songs on Conceptual Art project:
a compilation album based off of Sol LeWitt’s Sentences on Conceptual Art that will be released as a limited edition vinyl record and available to download for free on the project’s website. Go, go, go!

STOCK DINNER GRANT NOV 2011

2011-11-05T18:20:00.000-07:00

Artist Grant and Dinner Party
NOV 6th 6-8pm
PNCA Commons

Time-Based Artist Proposals from:

Laura Di Trapani
Dustin Zemel
Stefan Ransom and Crystal Baxley
Jamie Marie Waelchli
Jason Zimmerman, Ralph Pugay & Lori Gilbert
Tori Abernathy
Jodie Cavalier
Woolly Mammoth Comes To Dinner

Delicious dinner prepared by the amazing Lexa Walsh

Stock has it's first ever guest curator, and YOU still get to decide who gets the money.

2011-10-09T11:17:00.001-07:00

Linda Austin has agreed to be our first ever guest curator. She will get to choose 5 proposals from those submitted to us and then we will use the first 5 proposals we receive this cycle to round out our pool to the usual 10. We are excited about having guest curators as another way of reaching out beyond our own personal artistic networks, tapping into more of Portland's artistic communities and as a way of bringing new perspective to the what we do with Stock. Here is Linda's bio and you can check out her website to learn more.

Bio:

With a background originally in theatre, Linda Austin began making performance and dance in 1983, when her first piece was presented at the Danspace Project at St. Mark’s Church. As an active participant in the downtown New York dance and performance community until 1998, Austin presented work at Performance Space 122, the Danspace Project, the Kitchen, and Movement Research at Judson Church. From 1992 to 1994 she lived and made work in Mexico, returning in Mexico City in 1998 for a two-month residency sponsored by Movement Research and funded by the U.S./Mexico Culture Fund.
In 1998, needing a more expansive and stable environment for the creation of work, Austin moved to Portland, Oregon, bought a small church which became her studio and, with lighting designer Jeff Forbes, founded the performing arts non-profit Performance Works Northwest. PWNW serves as parent organization for Linda Austin Dance as well as the catalyst for other projects such as a 2002 residency and commissioning project with New York-based choreographer Sally Silvers.
In the Northwest, Austin has performed in Northwest New Works at both On the Boards and as part of PICA’s TBA Festival; as well as at Velocity (Seattle), Conduit. the Echo Theatre and at her home studio, Performance Works NorthWest.

Ready, Set, Go!

2011-09-16T08:27:00.001-07:00

Stock is back and accepting grant proposals for our next dinner event on Sunday Nov 6th from 6 - 8pm.

We are looking for time-based art project proposals due on the 23rd of October at midnight for the dinner event on November 6th.

This is the third of four focused calls for proposals this year. We have held object based and sustainability focused events - next is time-based and then still to come will be publication based work.

The easy proposal guidelines can be found here.
The dinner will be held at:

Pacific Northwest College of Art
1241 NW Johnson St
Portland, OR 97209

The latest winner: Carlie Armstrong with Work.Place

2011-05-01T10:14:00.000-07:00

Carlie's winning project is to document Portland artist's studio and creative work spaces with her Twin Lens Reflex camera. She will use the funds from her stock grant for film and for printing the photographs.

Check out her website.

She has done a lot of documentation already, including the studios of:

Laura Liebe & Aaron Montaigne

Heather Sielaff and OLO

Call for Proposals for March 2011: Object-Based Artwork (both 2D and 3D work)

2011-02-10T18:19:00.000-08:00

STOCK is pleased to host its third dinner of 2011 on March 20th from 6 - 8pm.

We are now soliciting proposals for Object Based Artwork (both 2D and 3D work of all mediums) due on the 13th of March at 5:00 pm for the dinner event on March 20th.

New, easy, proposal guidelines can be found here.
The dinner will be held at:

Pacific Northwest College of Art
1241 NW Johnson St
Portland, OR 97209

Stock hosts a Micro-Stock Grant at the University of Oregon 2011 Visual Culture Symposium

2011-01-21T10:03:00.000-08:00

Portland STOCK is seeking proposals from artists under the theme of “culture as a component of sustainability” for our February project grant.

We are now soliciting artist proposals, due Friday, February 4th at 5:00pm for a dinner event on Friday, February 11, hosted in conjunction with the Dill Pickle Club at the University of Oregon 2011 Visual Culture Symposium. Progressive arts and culture organizers from around the country will be in attendance, experiencing and studying the innovative ideas Portland offers in the way of self-organized-non-institutional activities, with an eye on sustainability.

The Micro-STOCK at the Visual Culture Symposium is not open to the public, unlike our regular bimonthly dinners. This dinner is to demonstrate a micro-granting process and to highlight Portland artists and groups who are working within the idea of "culture as a component of sustainability" for the gathered arts administrators, curators, and educators.

Proposal Guidelines here.

January 2011 Winner

2011-01-20T21:14:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Catherine Miller for her project "A Somewhat Secret Place: Disability and Art!"
www.asomewhatsecretplace.wordpress.com
Support us on Kickstarter http://kck.st/f2iosg

Open Call for Proposals: January 2011

2011-01-09T09:29:00.000-08:00

STOCK is pleased to host its first dinner of 2011 on January 23rd from 6 - 8pm.

We are now soliciting proposals, due Wed Jan 19th at 5:00pm for the dinner event on Jan 23rd.

New, easy, proposal guidelines can be found here.

The dinner will be held at:

Pacific Northwest College of Art
1241 NW Johnson St
Portland, OR 97209

October Winners: SSET

2010-10-25T09:01:00.000-07:00

Marisha Aurebach, Posie Currin, Amy Steel and Rebecca Steele won $479 for their project S.S.E.T (Seed Saving Exchange and Transportation).
Congratulations!

Dinner Invitation

2010-10-19T15:24:00.000-07:00

Our next dinner and grant is coming right up:

Here are the details:
Sunday, October 24th
6-8 pm
at PNCA
(1241 NW Johnson Street)

RSVP soon if you would like to attend!!!
portlandstock@gmail.com

Highlights of the evening will include:
-Presentation by Project GROW, Stock's August winner
-delicious meal of soup and other goodies
prepared by guest chef Sean Alsup
-discussion and voting on project proposals

This month's proposals include submissions by:
Joni Kabana
Lisa Schonberg
Clifton Burt
Amy Buchheit
Adam Moser
Rudy Speerschneider
Kiersi Burkhart
Sarah Holloway
Marisha Aurebach, Posie Currin, Amy Steel, & Rebecca Steele
Amy Matteson

October call for proposals

2010-10-04T23:04:00.000-07:00

*******************************************
We are now accepting proposals for our October Stock dinner. Proposals due October 17th at 5pm. See our call for proposals page for details.

Dinner and grant awarding will be October 24th, 6-9pm at PNCA
*******************************************

August 2010 Winners: Project Grow

2010-08-16T08:44:00.000-07:00

A lively team of people from Project Grow Project Grow took home $690 from August's Stock dinner for Jam Sessions, a community outreach and urban fruit preserving project. Congratulations, Project Grow!

August Call for Proposals

2010-07-07T08:09:00.000-07:00

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We are excited to announce a call for submissions for Stock's August dinner event.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

August Stock will be held Sunday, August 15th at PNCA, with Tressa Yellig from Salt, Fire and Time Community Supported Kitchen as guest chef.

Please see our Call for Proposals page for more details.

June's Winner: Edward P. Davee

2010-06-21T14:09:00.001-07:00

Edward P Davee walked away with $605 at the June 6th Stock event. He'll be using the money for The Story of Hurt, a true story about a religious cult in Corvallis, OR in the early 1900's. He is also working closely with Film Action Oregon to raise funds for the movie. For more information about Edward, please visit: http://epdavee.wordpress.com/edward-p-davee/

June Proposals

2010-06-20T12:07:00.000-07:00

One Year of Stock

2010-06-03T22:56:00.000-07:00

Come celebrate our first year of Stock Grants.

Sunday June 6 6-8pm
at Disjecta

RSVP necessary to portlandstock@gmail.com

Along with a tasty dinner and a lively round of discussion and voting we will be exhibiting all of the proposals we have ever received as part of the Grown Ups exhibition. This exhibit will be on display throughout the month of June.

Call for Proposals: June Stock

2010-04-27T10:37:00.000-07:00

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Calling Portland artists! Please submit proposals for the June 2010 Stock dinner!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Please see our Call for Proposals page for pertinent details.

Stock Surges

2010-03-20T22:45:00.000-07:00

Vanessa Renwick, Portrait #2: Trojan
March STOCK Dinner rounded up our biggest award ever of $665 for Vanessa Renwick's proposal. She will use the funds to buy a camera and memorialize this passing moment in Oregon's history with a series of postcards.

It was a great event. Thank you everybody who submitted proposals, volunteered and came out to be a part of making this happen.

March Proposals

2010-03-13T11:19:00.000-08:00

After a little delay, here are the proposals from the March 2010 Stock Dinner:

Stock Strikes Again! Sunday March 14th

2010-03-04T12:01:00.000-08:00

Come join us for dinner, discussion, and voting next Sunday!

Presentation by January's winner, Forrest Martin of Death Magazine

Vote on Proposals by artists including:

Vanessa Renwick
Comrade Clover
Sarah Mirk with the Dill Pickle Club
Ashley Neese
Emily Lieb with LARKE

Here are the details:

Sunday March 14th
6-8 pm
PNCA Commons
1241 NW Johnson St.
Dinner and Voting Rights = $10

RSVP REQUIRED!
send us an email and say you'll be there:
portlandstock@gmail.com

Call for Proposals: March 2009

2010-02-26T17:28:00.000-08:00

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We are excited to announce a call for submissions for March.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Please see our Call for Proposals page for more details.

January's Winner: Forrest Martin & Death Magazine

2010-02-01T13:46:00.000-08:00

Designer Forrest Martin won January's $437 Stock grant with his proposal for his project Death Magazine. Congratulations, Forrest!

January's proposals

2010-01-24T08:06:00.000-08:00

Attend our January Dinner on Sunday the 24th

2010-01-17T18:36:00.000-08:00

You are hereby invited to attend Portland Stock's January dinner art granting event!

Here are the details:
Sunday, January 24th
6-8 pm
The mezzanine at The Armory,
home of Portland Center Stage
(128 Northwest 11th Avenue
Portland, OR 97209)

PLEASE RSVP !!!
portlandstock at gmail

Highlights of the evening will include:
-delicious meal of soup and other goodies
-presentations by November Stock grant winners
Public Social University and July grant winner Dafna Margalit
-discussion and voting on project proposals

This month's proposals include submissions by:
Vanessa Renwick
Eric Steen
Forrest Martin
Marshall Berg
Nicole Lavelle
Research Club
Chris Haberman

We hope you will join us!

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

2010-01-06T11:26:00.000-08:00

This first STOCK event of the next decade. Jump on it.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We are excited to announce a call for submissions to January's art granting dinner event.

Please see our Call for Proposals page for more details.

November winners, Public Social University, to host workshop on oral histories

2009-12-04T09:51:00.000-08:00

Here's a chance to check out a project put together by the winners of November Stock grant, Public Social University.

The event will feature the following workshops, discussions, and activities:

* The Meaning and Importance of Oral History and how the Internet and Digital Media are Transforming the Tradition. A community discussion with special guests from across the spectrum of human thought and involvement

* Oral History 101 with Jim Strassmaier: A Brief Introduction to Processes and Ethics of Collecting Oral Histories. Jim Strassmaier is a native Oregonian from Eugene. Among other things, he studied in Germany as a Fulbright Scholar, wrote his dissertation on 1840s German and French Socialism, earned his Ph.D. from Loyola University, and was Oral Historian at the Oregon Historical Society for 15 years. He is presently Oregon director for the labor oral history program of the Pacific Northwest Labor History Association.

* Live Presentations of Oral Histories facilitated by Felicia Williams. Felicia Williams will demonstrate an oral history interview process in front of a live audience, featuring local luminaries, such as Shane Schneider, who will impart great wisdom of times past! Felicia Williams is an instructor and historian with the Portland State University Black Studies Department, where she teaches a class on collecting oral histories about the Civil Rights Movement in Portland. Her research focus areas are, primarily, African American and Pacific Northwest Native American History. Shane Schneider is a lifelong artist and musician who has never read a word of Hemingway and may have written the world's shortest poem.

* The Opportunity to Become Involved in a Collaborative Oral Histories Documentary Project. Throughout December and January, we will invite and and encourage community members to collect oral histories to be used as part of a collaborative oral history documentary project. Public Social University will offer support and access to necessary documentary tools. Thanks to Portland Stock for financial assistance with this component of the event.

Please write to publicsocialuniversity at gmail.com with any questions, comments, concerns, creativity, et cetera.

November Dinner & Award

2009-11-27T10:47:00.000-08:00

Stock continues to grow...

The November event was attended by 100 people.
We had 10 proposals to discuss.
The award went to Public Social University in the amount of $540!

Thanks to PNCA for the great location.

November Proposals

2009-11-26T13:25:00.000-08:00

Public Social University won in Novembers with runners up Hannah Jickling and Lori Gilbert and Michael Reinsch.

November Call for Proposals

2009-11-07T17:29:00.000-08:00

We are excited to announce a call for submissions to November's art granting dinner event.

Please see our Call for Proposals page for more information.

Nurturing Creativity: An Artist’s Practice

2009-11-02T14:46:00.000-08:00

Here's a great example of Stock bringing together artists in the Portland area!

August's grantee The Portland Healing Project is facilitating a talk with artist Beth Lorio at
Sea Change Gallery
625 NW Everett Street Gallery, #110
Saturday, November 7
from 2-4 pm.

All of the involved, venue, presenter and sponsor met at a Stock event. Both Beth and Sea Change's co-founder, Katherine, are former Stock applicants, and Portland Healing Project was August's grant winner.

So mark your calendar for Nurturing Creativity. The workshop will center on how restoration is part of the creative process. Portland Healing Project has a great interview with Beth along with more details on the event on their website http://portlandhealingproject.com.

Stock gets some ink

2009-10-21T14:23:00.000-07:00

Lisa Radon profiled us in this month's Portland Monthly Magazine.

We have a winner!

2009-10-19T23:39:00.000-07:00

October Stock Results:

-6 Project proposals
-Over 80 people in attendance
-Our first presentation of a project funded by Stock thanks to The Portland Healing Project
-An award of $525 to our winning proposal for the Living Room Lecture Series by Anna Gray & Ryan Wilson Paulsen

October Proposals

2009-10-18T16:15:00.000-07:00

RSVP for STOCK October 18th

2009-10-16T11:49:00.000-07:00

The last artists to receive a grant from Stock, Mariah Maines and Jess Hirsch, took home $500 in cash at the end of the evening. They'll be presenting on what they did with the money this Sunday.

In addition to the presentation, we will have six proposals vying to win October's pot of gold from the following artists:

Tesar Freeman & Claire LaMont

Sandy Sampson

Anna Gray and Ryan Wilson Paulsen

Forrest Martin

Jamie Marie Waelchli

Abra Ancliffe

We'll also be unveiling our new two-round (aka runoff) voting system.

Will you vote to fund start-up costs for a magazine, help an artist purchase supplies for a large-scale installation, support a stay-at-home lecture series, buy books for a specially curated library, pay artist fees for a talented-yet-unrecognized artist or assist in a campaign to remove a plaque from the park blocks?

RSVP to portlandstock at gmail dot com

When and where?
Sunday, October 18, 6-8 PM (do rsvp. dinner is first come first serve)
Gallery Homeland, SE 11th and Division

October Call For Entries

2009-09-27T19:07:00.000-07:00

Please see our Call for Proposals page for more information on how to apply for a Stock grant.

Next Dinner - October...

2009-09-16T08:41:00.000-07:00

We're trying to finalize the details of the next Stock dinner for October. Turns out that it's difficult to coordinate a date when we will have both tables and chairs as well as a place to put them. We'll post here as soon as we have the date.

In the meantime, we've been discussing different voting models, such as the two-round voting system. Any input from Stock blog visitors regarding their experiences with different styles of voting systems (including two-round, consensus, first-past-the-post, and exhaustive ballot) is welcome in the comments!

August Dinner & Award

2009-08-31T11:55:00.001-07:00

Mariah Maines and Jess Hirsch of The Portland Healing Project (pictured left, above) were recipients of the $500 artist grant for August, 2009.

We hosted approximately 70 diners at this month's dinner, doubling our attendance from last month.

We'd like to extend a hearty thanks to Gallery Homeland for hosting us a second month, as well as to the many volunteers and donors who helped us peel beets, chop tomatoes, schlep tables and chairs and beautify the space.

We hope to see everyone next month as we plan to host Stock as part of the Econvergence conference.

Here are some more pictures from August's event:

August Proposals

2009-08-30T08:34:00.000-07:00

Here are the proposals we received in August!

August Call For Proposals

2009-08-04T09:33:00.000-07:00

Please use the questions below to describe the art project you want funding for. Attendees at Stock's dinner on Sunday, August 30 will democratically award this grant by voting for their favorite proposal.
If funded, you will be obliged to make a presentation to the Stock community regarding your progress on this project at the next Stock dinner in approximately one month's time.
This grant funds Portland-based artists. If you have a question about whether or not you are Portland-based, please contact us to discuss.

Note: We will turn your answers into large scale (11X17) posters for people to look at during the Stock dinner event.

Proposal:
1. Project Summary: (100 words)

2. How will you use the funding toward the realization of your project? (50 words)

3. How will it manifest at the next Stock event? (100 words):

4. Why is this project important? (100 words)

Images:
Submit 4 digital images (3X5"max size) relating to your project or past projects in order to better illustrate your words above. (examples: sketches for project proposal, maps, diagrams, or other related imagery)
Each image should be numbered. Also attach a corresponding numbered list of one sentence descriptions for each image.

Deadline:
Submit your proposal before Aug 23rd to be considered for the this month's granting session. Each month the first 10 completed proposals will vie for Stock’s dinner grant. One proposal per artist per month please.

Submissions:
To learn more or submit a proposal email portlandstock {at} gmail dot com.

July Dinner & Award

2009-07-27T21:10:00.000-07:00

STOCK organizer Katy Asher talks with winning artist Dafna Margalit.

The July Report:

10 Artist Proposals!
40 Diners!

$233 awarded to artist Dafna Margalit!

Come to the August STOCK Dinner to see a presentation on her winning project.

THANK YOU to everyone who submitted proposals, donated their time & goods and came out for our first event.

July Proposals

2009-07-26T14:59:00.000-07:00

Here are images of the proposals we received in July!

July Dinner Details

2009-07-25T12:53:00.001-07:00

Just a reminder: Our first dinner is Sunday, July 26 from 6-9 PM at

Gallery Homeland
2505 SE 11th Ave.
at the corner of Division

Parking lot just south of Division on SE 11th

Dinner preparations underway

2009-07-25T12:32:00.000-07:00

Menu:
The dinner menu comes straight from lush local gardens and farms, all cool to beat the summer heat:

Roasted Summer Squash & Bean Caponata with Chard
Sweet Beet and Potato Salad - Pink!
Pesto Pasta
Massaged Kale Salad
Seasoned Fresh Cucumbers
Greens and Vinaigrette

+ Artisan Bread & Hibiscus Sun Tea

Our first dinner will take place at Gallery Homeland (SE 11th and Division) Sunday, July 26, from 6-9.
RSVP to portlandstock at gmail dot com, and arrive promptly at 6.

Call for Proposals/Proposal Guidelines

2009-06-30T22:01:00.000-07:00

Please use the questions below to describe the art project you want to be funded. This grant will be awarded democratically by the diners who attend Stock's upcoming public dinner event on Sunday, July 26, 2009.

If funded, you will be obliged to make a presentation to the Stock community regarding your progress on this project at the next Stock dinner in approximately one month's time.

This grant funds Portland-based artists. If you have a question about whether or not you are Portland-based, please contact us to discuss.

Proposal:
1. Project Summary: (100 words)

2. How will you use the funding toward the realization of your project? (50 words)

3. How will it manifest at the next Stock event? (100 words):

4. Why is this project important? (100 words)

Images:
Submit 5 images relating to your project or past projects in order to better illustrate your words above. (examples: sketches for project proposal, maps, diagrams, or other related imagery)
Each image should be numbered. Also attach a corresponding numbered list of one sentence descriptions for each image.

We will compile all applicants' text and imagery in a unified format and post them at the dinner for diners to view and vote upon.

Deadline:
Submit your proposal before July 20th to be considered for the first granting session. Each month the first 15 completed proposals will vie for Stock’s dinner grant. One proposal per artist per month please.

Submissions:
To learn more or submit a proposal email portlandstock {at} gmail dot com.

Stock:

2009-06-25T08:09:00.000-07:00

Clear soup broth, investment, estimation, faith,
gathering, accumulation, appraisal, cash, assets,
a stem, tree, or plant that furnishes slips or cuttings
Ancestry, lineage
Merchandise

Call for Proposals

2008-07-21T11:35:00.000-07:00

Stock's goal is to fund Portland artist projects as directly as possible. Less red-tape, more money for art! Stock grants fund specific artist projects. Portland-based individuals and artist groups may apply to fund a finite art project.

Please note: Stock grants do not fund an artist's or group's overall practice, nor do we fund organizations. If you have a question about how this might apply to you, please contact us.

For each granting cycle, Stock invites a guest curator to select five proposals and includes the first five Project Proposals that meet all of the proposal requirements below, for a total of up to ten proposals per cycle. If funded, you will be responsible for making a presentation to the Stock community regarding your progress on this project at the next Stock dinner (approximately 6-8 weeks after receiving the grant).

PROPOSAL CRITERIA

Please tell us and the voters about your project by responding to the following questions. Your words and images will be displayed on an 11X17 poster during the granting dinner event.

1. Project Summary (one sentence).
Write a one sentence summary for your project. These will be read aloud at the dinner.

2.Project Description (100-word maximum).
Describe your project. Please be as specific and tangible as possible.

3. Project Relevance (100-word maximum).
Why is this project important now? What is the project's historical, personal, and contextual background?

4. Use of Funds (50-word maximum).
How will you specifically spend the money if you are funded?

5. Project Presentation (100-word maximum).
Each funded artist must present their project at the next Stock dinner (6-8 weeks later). Tell us about what you will share. What format will it take - an activity or object, documentation of event, work in progress, slide lecture, performance, something else?

6. Submit four digital images (3"x 5" or 900 x 1500 px at 300 dpi maximum size) related to your project or past projects that illustrate your proposal (examples: sketches, maps, diagrams).

7. Number each image and attach a numbered list of one-sentence descriptions for each.

DEADLINE
Please see the main page of our blog for thematic instructions, the most current deadlines, dinner dates and locations.

SUBMIT
To submit a proposal (or ask questions) email: portlandstock@gmail.com

About Stock

2008-07-21T11:19:00.000-07:00

Stock is a monthly public dinner event and presentation series which democratically funds Portland-area artist projects. Diners pay $10 for a homemade meal and the chance to vote for which artist proposal will receive the evening's proceeds. The dinner's profits immediately become an artist grant, awarded according to the vote of the diners. Winning artists present their completed work at the next Stock dinner.

Stock is inspired by InCUBATE's Sunday Soup granting program in Chicago, Illinois. In the last two years, the number of grassroots dinner granting programs rapidly multiplied, forming in Brooklyn,Baltimore, Grand Rapids, Minneapolis, Newcastle, Providence, Iowa City, Columbus, Ann Arbor,Buffalo, Detroit, Kiev, Mexico City, and Milan. Each of these places adapts the Sunday Soup model to support their own city's cultural life. For example, Brooklyn is able to distribute 2-3 sizable grants per dinner, while Baltimore focuses not on art but on community development projects. Kiev serves borscht and Stock serves farmers market fare. While the innovation involved in the creation of a new project can have its own power, the adaptability and repeatability of this model is what makes it powerful, allowing others to easily grow and change it as needed.

Stock adapts the soup granting model to include a two-round voting process. We believe that this process encourages participants to think and talk more about what makes an art project valuable. During the second round of voting, outliers have to reassess their plans, while winners advocate for their favorite project. Overall, the voting process invites constituents to consider and promote the kinds of cultural
production they would like to see in their city.

At the core of the democratic process, people organize around the fact that they have a common stake in each other. This model for funding is gaining momentum in part from the way it provides people with a direct experience of their control over a shared future outcome. Stock makes space for artists to be seen and heard publicly outside of other existing institutional frameworks.

Stock is one way of activating the democratic process. It creates a forum for people to come together and make something happen as a group that could not have happened if we each acted separately. We try to make the process as transparent as possible: At the beginning of the night you pay for your dinner, talk to the other diners about what art matters to you, vote and, at the end of the night, see your cash, along with everyone else’s, being handed to the artist you helped select.

Each proposal answers the question, "Why is this important?" During our first year in operation, we collected 55 reasons for why culture and art making are important for Portland, and were able to support six of those reasons with $2,900 in funding from local individuals.